i can't keep my eyes off of you
by words-with-dragons
Summary: Kai's perception of Jinora changes over time. OR, Kai struggles with his feelings for Jinora. [Kai/Jinora] A drabble.


i can't keep my eyes off of you

_i. _

He's twelve and Jinora's nice looking, he guesses. He's never thought much about appearances before. What matters is that she gives out easy smiles and kind words he's never heard from anyone else before. He feels weird around her sometimes but that's just normal best friend stuff, right? He's not sure; he's never had a best friend before.

He's proud of her when she gets her tattoos. She's nervous about shaving her head. She's worried about looking weird, and he tells her, "You could never look weird."

It's make her flush and she gives a shy sort of smile, like she did when they first met, and it makes his heart flutter. Okay, so maybe whatever she makes him feel isn't quite just best friend stuff after all.

_ii._

He's thirteen and Jinora's cute. Undeniably cute. Her tongue peeks out when she concentrates real hard, and her brow scrunches together, and he loves it when she snorts when she laughs. Which she does a lot whenever she teases him about how she's taller them him, which is annoying.

He's the guy, isn't he supposed to be taller? Why does she get to be taller and a master? She teases him about it, but usually she gets him to laugh too. And even when she doesn't, he can't mind it too much. Whenever he looks at her, her lips greet his eyes first. He doesn't understand why that makes his heart flutter too.

Then, he gets his growth spurt, and he's taller than her. He can tell she isn't too disappointed. Besides, now that's she shorter, she looks even cuter than before.

Okay, so this is definitely not just normal best friend stuff. He can deal with that, right? (Wrong.)

_iii. _

He's fourteen and Jinora's really pretty. She's always been cute, but she's looking really grown up. He can barely believe she's thirteen. She's let her hair go past its usual bob, letting it be a little longer than it was. It makes her look older. It makes him realize when they're hanging out alone, that if he really wanted to, he could lean down and kiss her...

He does his best to keep his feelings under control. She's his best friend, and he doesn't want to ruin that, even if his heart does run a marathon whenever she's around.

He's just a normal best friend to her, right?

_iv. _

He's fifteen and Jinora's beautiful. He's painfully aware of it, too. For once, it seems he and Tenzin are on the same page: Jinora and boys are a big no-no. He knows Tenzin's just being protective, but Kai knows it'd be more painful than knowing how beautiful she is to see her with another boy. Imagine if some guy got to be her first kiss? That guy should be him. He wants it to be.

It definitely doesn't help that the affectionately nicknamed 'squirrel suits' are awfully tight and accent her curves nicely and... He can't stare either.

He has no idea what's going on one day when she gets furious with him, and yells, "How can you be so_stupid_?!" Then she leans up and kisses him and it's the best feeling in the world.

"It's because I'm sort of in love with you," he whispers when they break apart. Half-laughing, accompanied by an adorable snort, Jinora grins up at him.

"I love you too Kai," she says fondly. She runs a hand through his hair, and with the light hitting her eyes, the gentle curve of her lips, he knows she's never looked more beautiful.

Okay, well maybe except for their wedding day, where they get to be each other's best friends for forever.

* * *

><p><strong>Long ago, the Kainora shippers lived in harmony with Bryke. Then, everything changed when the Kainora drought attacked. Only a book 4 Kainora reunion could stop it, but when the shippers needed it most, it didn't come in the week's episode. 9 weeks passed when the shippers and I took to being desperate fangirls, but I still believe the OTP reunion will happen.<strong>

**Stay strong guys. Remember the concept art of all the airbenders? They had Kainora standing next to each other. Why would they need that reference if they weren't going to have a scene together? We'll survive this drought.**

**I watched "A Walk To Remember" so expect a Kainora au of that over the next week or so. Consider it a heartbreaking Christmas present. :) **


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